Reflection 6

Brittney Cox

Reflection 6

            Laying the ground work for a project is a very important process.  Before the project begins, teachers and students need to self-evaluate what they know about what “dispositions you expect them to develop” (P 95).  This will help the students set the foundation for learning new information.  Krauss states “Throughout the project, as you ask students to think about their thinking and process, they will become more aware and articulate about their metacognitive strategies” (p 95).  Blogs, ProfilerPRO, SurveyMonkey, and Zoomerang can help students self-assess while they are working on their projects.

            To get students’ minds ready for a project teachers must start by assessing what the students already know and what they want to know.  Teachers want students to be personally invested in the project so they can be excited and take ownership of their learning.  A good amount of time should be spent forming questions and talking about different areas of a project the students would want to research.

            Setting the stage for independent inquiry is an important step in the project process.  First teachers need to share the assessment rubric so the students can have a guideline.  Next they need to set up a technology playground by letting students explore, ask questions, and teach each other about the technology they are going to use during the project.  This will leave more time for learning during the project.  This should be followed by introducing project-management tools that will help “a project log or journal offers another tool to help students track their progress toward goals” (P 103).  Demonstrations are the last step of setting the stage.  Some students may need to see the teacher, or technology specialist, demonstrate the technology so their questions can be answered. 

            Promoting inquiry and deep learning is the goal of all projects.  Teachers need to “guide students as they choose questions, plan investigations, and begin to put their plan into action” (p 107).  Students need time to think about their project and engage in activities collaboratively.  Students need to be guided “towards skilled questioning (and) inquiry using question starters” (p 108).

            Our project will incorporate all of these main points.  We would make sure the students know how to use the technology and give the students time to explore the culture they would want to study.  We want our students to be prepared technologically and excited about the culture they chose to research.